What one single thing most improved your game

[My Wife Hates CIV]

For me it was when I discovered I could transform city centers into hills. This was some time ago. Now I can win 98%+ games on any level. Marines can stop about any AI attack, be it tanks or battleships (with costal fortress). The AI stops attacking costal cities after awhile. Even vet MI can hold there own against AI howies. The defense bonus is almost too much for hills I think.

[Smash]

no question-this forum.And the curse of micromanagement.

[Bohlen]

I'm with Smash. This forum has given me quite a few tips. I thought I knew the game when I started playing again after a year away, but you guys have shown me that I have a lot to learn. The Super Science City is something that I knew about, but didn't know how to use it to its fullest potential. I'd have to say that the SSC and establishing trade routes throughout each game has helped me out the most.

[Peter Hennesy]

This forum and finally getting to understand WLTPD - knew the game reasonably well before I started coming here but never really saw the fullpotnetial contained in some of the rules.

[Paul]

This gets boring, but this forum has helped improve my game a lot; espacially the Super Science City and OCC.

[Scouse Gits]

In a word - Apolyton.

The complete lack of strategy guides in the UK has been compensated by a box file of print-outs from these threads.

To anyone new - trawl through the archives - I promise you some good reading.

Although I don't have the MP version of the game - you can learn from following the postings there. A current one deals with the Powergraph.

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Scouse Git (2)

[SmartFart]

Advanced tribe about 3800 bc...definitelly.

[kcbob]

As most of the postings so far have said, this site has been an incredible help. Not to mention just plain great entertainment in its own right.

As for the thing within the game that has improved my play, it was probably realizing that caravans and freight can be used to help build wonders. Stockpiling enough of them to build a wonder in one turn when it becomes available seems like cheating when you're playing the AI.

BTW, MWHC, (hope that's not too many acronyms), how do you transform a city center in to a hill? I'm assuming you do it after the city is built. Do you just put your settler/engineer on the city and transform away? And why not just build on a hill in the first place? Do you lose production bonuses by doing that that you would otherwise have when building on a grassland/river spot?

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Frodo lives!

Better dead than "Red"... or green... or blue... or yellow... or orange... or purple... or white.

[This message has been edited by kcbob (edited December 24, 1999).]

[Aurelius]

Oh I like this question. But there is no one answer. It's more of an evolution for me. Civ is a good game as it allows different strategies/tactics to succeed. I found this site after I'd gotten alot of fundamentals down. Military stuff and diplomatic stuff and optimization stuff. But the game keeps suprising me.

Military success came to me when I realized the 'ZOC bug'. Of course, I don't know if this is a bug, but the AI doesn't seem to utilize the passing through enemy lines via a land convoy or spy or caravan or air unit or partisan. For instance, I love going to the heart of the enemy (bypassing all city/unit ZOC) and taking it's capital that contains the UN. Then forceing peace

Another cornerstone of military affairs concerns the defensive war. Putting strong defensive units in the strategically placed mountain fortresses and holding off the hordes while the country builds libraries and banks and wonders. This was a big realization for me early on in Civ.

In the late years of a game, I was startled when I realized I could surround the cities and prevent the appearance of pesky partisans! I loved this realization. And the other late year mop up tactic was taking capital cities until a poor non-government occurred. Then send in the bribers and inciters.

But military strategies aside, I think the single most important element in going from emperor to deity was alliances and learning to trade for science (always did it through conquest and theft before with an occasional trade.)

Then there was the combination of factors that allowed me to win diety on a large map. The utilization of certain wonders with certain strategies. I suppose I have always been doing this. Still, manipulating the tax/science/luxuries to grow a civ properly is the cornerstone of the game--bar none, may I be so bold.

But on a humble note, I must say, It never occurred to me to have a super science city until the concept of OCC was explained (Guess the idea originated at this site or by someone at this site.) I'll have to use the super science city in a multicity game. And Trade is another element in the game I didn't explore until some folks prevailed upon me.

I wonder what the mark of a good game is? Probably when the game surprises it's maker.

Aurelius.

[Aurelius]

Originally posted by SmartFart on 12-24-1999 11:40 AM
Advanced tribe about 3800 bc...definitelly.

Cynic!

[Genghis Al]

I have to say, after finding this site. The whole caravan thing... I have no Idea how I played this geame before.

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Ah man! Ghandi! New game.

-Genghis Al

[lmstoudt]

I'd say taking citizens off the production map when city sizes get to 8 & 12 & converting them to taxmen & scientists.

[Crustacian]

For me in the beggining it was learning to not be too resourse rich with my city map workers trying to build early stuff faster in small cities, cuz bigger cities get things done faster.

so food-resource-trade balance

Once after my 2nd game on 1st edition some Aztec modern units payed me a visit in China and my brave phalanxes were bombed from strange flying machines!! One highly honered unit even won!
I dug deeper into the strategy area in my brain and wished I had this forum to have speeded up my learning process. Many strategies on here that have names we learned a form of by trial and error back then.

and trade routing early in the game.

and loosing the tendancy to overprotect early cities and not expand early.

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The journey itself is the thing~Odysseus

[War4ever]

CARAVANS..... i only ever used them for wonders which as a conquerer worked just fine... but alas even a warmonger needs to be literate and develope manners

As much as i thought i knew civ, when i started reading the forums months before i registered, my conquests became that much easier.

Not too mention all of the great warriors i have fallen and fallen to on this site... keep on civin

[Aurelius]

Oh, the combination of many Howitzers and a railroad with 'paired' engineers building the stacked 'BigGuns' a fortress. Dat's da Ticket!